Save Me (6 page)

"Dinner's just about ready. You wanna bring her out?" Lucas popped his head in the door not looking my way.

"Yeah, be right there." Bo stretched his arms over his head and stood up. He was at least 6'5" and 250lbs. Not the kind of person that would be easily fought off. He had a deep scar across his face and what looked like a burn covering most of his right hand. I wondered if whoever had done that to him had lived to talk about it. I doubted it.

"Let's go sweetheart. Dinner time." Bo yanked me up by my hair and pushed me toward the door. Outside the sky was littered with stars. It was a clear, cool night. The kind of night that I would have begged Dad to light the fire pit in the back yard. Oh how I missed those nights. Mom, Dad, and I sitting in the back yard around the fire talking and laughing. Mom would tell stories about when they were younger and how Dad used to leave her anonymous letters in her mailbox. I loved hearing Mom's stories no matter how many times she told the same ones over and over again. What I wouldn't give just to hear them just one more time.

"Smells good Cousin." Bo pushed me down on a bench. It was certainly the only thing that smelled good around here. Lucas walked over and sat down next to me, putting a plate of food on my lap. He pulled a knife out and cut the zip tie from my wrists so I could eat. If they were feeding me, I guess killing me wasn't on the agenda just yet. I wasn't really sure if that was a good thing or not after the way Bo had been staring at me in the cabin. The food really did smell good though. I didn't realize just how hungry I was. It shouldn't have surprised me that these two Neanderthals didn't bother with silverware. They dug in to the meat with their filthy hands, licking meat juice off their fingers. I figured it wasn't a good idea to ask for a fork and napkin so I quietly ate the food I was given. Food that should have been shared by Will and I back at the basement. I wondered if he had gone back there after he let these two pigs drag me away. He could be sitting comfortably in my basement eating food that belonged to me right now. Selfish bastard.

"Enjoy your dinner sweetheart?" Lucas asked moving closer to me on the bench. He leaned in to smell my hair dramatically. I suddenly felt nauseated. I wasn't sure whether it was from the thought I was sure he was thinking or just the smell of him. Either way, I was about to lose my dinner.

"Hey cousin, I don't think she likes you." Bo laughed.

"Oh that's ok." Lucas ran his greasy hand across my face. "She'll learn to like me."

That was about all I could take. I leaned my head away from Lucas and puked up my dinner.

"You sure about that?"Bo laughed harder. Lucas got up disgusted and sat on a wooden chair across from the bench. I puked again, this time harder than before. Chunks of partially digested meat splattered toward Bo's feet.

"Damn. Stick her in the cage for the night." Lucas poured a bucket of water over the fire and went inside the cabin. I may not be able to shoot the bastard in the head but at least I could ruin his evening. It was something. Bo got up and motioned for me to do the same. This time he wasn't interested in getting too close. You would think someone who smelled worse than a septic tank would have a stronger stomach. Around the back of the cabin was what they referred to as the cage, which was some more chain link fence like around the fire but set up a little more sturdily. There was a large pipe toward the back standing vertically about ten feet high. Bo pushed me into the cage and toward the pole. He zip tied my wrists and ankles around the pole and locked the cage with a padlock. The cage wouldn't have been a problem without this damn pole. There was no way I was getting out of this one. Bo clearly believed that because he left me there and went inside, slamming the cabin door behind him. Those two were obviously dumber than I thought. Leaving human bait right outside your door was asking for trouble. More so for me because even though I couldn't get out of this cage, it wouldn't stop any flesh eaters from getting in. And since I was bound to this pole, there would be nothing I could do to get away from them. I once saw a man handcuffed to the door handle of a car get ripped to shreds by two hungry undead girls in One Direction t-shirts. They couldn't have been more than 12 years old. It took him longer to die than I expected. I'll never forget the sound of him screaming and begging "Oh Please, no" over and over like it could possibly make a difference. The girls just tore chunks of flesh from him starting at his legs, growling as they chewed. I had nightmares about that for weeks. I've seen a lot of shit since then. Some of it even worse than that but something about those young girls stuck with me.

I could hear howling in the distance. Coyotes probably. You didn't see, or even hear, too many of them anymore around here. The flesh eaters didn't seem that interested in most animals. They would eat cows, deer, pigs, and occasionally horses but most other creatures were safe. Mom's theory was that they ate the animals the living tended to eat, which made horses a curious choice. They didn't bother with any sort of bird though. Chickens, turkeys, anything with feathers seemed to be safe, at least from the undead. Those of us with a pulse became less discerning out of necessity. My guess is that's what happened to the coyotes. You couldn't exactly go down to the local grocery and pick up some steak for dinner. In the beginning there were food drops by the military. The problem with that was they came by tank or large convoys which made a lot of noise. The undead followed them in to the areas where food was delivered finding meals for themselves. At this point, who knows if there even is still a military. With no radio, television or newspapers, there was no way to know what was really happening out there. A guy passing through where my last group was said that the military base three hundred miles south was supposedly up and running and taking in refugees. He was on his way there, or so he told us. He also stole a backpack full of food and two guns from the group before heading out in the middle of the night. People told all kinds of stories about places that were safe and barricaded villages the undead could be kept out of. The problem was, things usually weren't what they seemed.

My stomach was still feeling a little queasy so I guess it wasn't the cousin's smell alone that had made me sick. I pulled on my wrists once more to see if there was any chance of getting them free. It was no use. These weren't flimsy zip ties from the local hardware store. They looked like something law enforcement would use. I was going to be sitting here until someone cut me free, or worse. I tried to get as comfortable as possible in this position to see if I could try to get some sleep. Since there was nothing I could do at this point, I figured I might as well get some sleep.

The sun had just started to peek above the horizon when I woke up to arguing inside the cabin. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I could tell Bo was really angry. Whatever it was I hoped it kept them away from me for as long as possible. After a few minutes of the fight, I heard the cabin door open and slam shut. Those two really had no concept of being quiet. It was as if they were begging zombies to find us. I heard the door open and close once more and then footsteps coming around to the back of the house. Lucas peered around the side of the house to check on me then disappeared around the house again. My wrists were bruised and starting to bleed a little where the ties cut into them. As much as I wanted them to leave me alone, I really did want to be out of the ties. The arguing had stopped and I could smell the fire again. A little while later Lucas came back around and opened my cage to let me up. It took me a couple tries to actually stand up after being unable to move for so many hours. For the first time I could actually see a hint of sympathy on Lucas' face. He waited for me to get my body working again and took my arm, leading me into the wooded area behind the cabin. I wanted to ask him where we were going, but I was afraid to know the answer. I thought maybe he was taking me out there to kill me, but then I saw the outhouse up ahead. The panic faded a bit. I really did need to pee! Lucas stood outside the door to the small outhouse and waited until I was finished. Then he led me back to the cabin. We walked past Bo who was sitting in one of the chairs by the fire drinking something from a ceramic mug. He paid no attention to me as I walked past with Lucas and went into the cabin.

"How's your stomach?" Lucas asked, motioning for me to sit on the old ratty sofa.

"A little better." My throat was dry and my voice came out in little more than a whisper. Lucas pulled a box out from under one of the beds and took out some crackers and a water bottle and handed them to me. Then he pulled out another set of ties and bound one of my arms to the headboard on the bed then went back outside. The last meal I had kept down was nearly 24 hours ago so I was grateful for the offering. Things sure can change quickly. Just 24 hours ago I was sitting at the table in my basement with Will eating stale oatmeal and trying to keep myself from staring into his beautiful green eyes. I pushed Will from my mind. I couldn't let myself think about him now. He was gone from my life, like I had originally wanted. Before I started to get to know him. Not that it mattered now.

I could tell something was going on between the cousins this morning. I liked them arguing much better than how they were last night, but not knowing what was going on with them made me nervous. I heard some more arguing and then Bo came in to the cabin. He slammed his gun down on the table and kicked a bucket that was on the floor nearby. I tried not to look in his direction, hoping he would ignore me as he had earlier when I walked past. Unfortunately, luck was not on my side yet again. Bo pulled the knife from his boot that he had cut my face with in the truck last night and cut the tie on my wrists. I still tried to keep from looking at him but he grabbed my chin and pulled my face, giving me little choice.

"Look at me bitch!" He spit his sewer breath into my face. "You and me are gonna have some fun today."

My mind raced with panic. His gun was across the room but I was sure I couldn't get away from him to get it. He pulled me down further on the bed so I was no longer sitting and tried to pull at my shirt. His free hand pushed down on me hard making it impossible for me to stop him. I figured I was pretty much screwed no matter what I did so I might as well go down fighting. With all the strength I had in me, I pulled back my leg and kneed him in the crotch and squirmed out from under him the best I could.

"You bitch!" Bo yelled and grabbed me by the hair before I could even get off the bed. "You're gonna pay for that!" He smacked me hard across the face, cutting open my mouth. I could taste my warm blood trickle down my throat. He was about ready to come down again on my face when we heard the gun shot. He stopped, hand midair, and tried to listen for any sounds. I took this opportunity to kick him again, foolishly. Bo grabbed me by the throat and pulled me up off the bed. He gave me one hard thrust in the stomach with his free fist leaving me unable to breathe for at least a minute. He then slammed my head into the cabin wall. Everything went black.

~Chapter Five~

A blurry figure hovered above me as I slowly opened my eyes. My head throbbed like my brain was pounding against it to get out. I felt like I was hit by a truck, a truck named Bo. I started punching wildly at the figure above me. I wasn't going down without a fight, even if it was just pissing him off more!

"Andi, calm down. It's me, Will." He grabbed my wrists to keep me from hitting him. I tried to focus on the blurry figure above me. My vision started to return gradually. I could tell the voice was his, but after what I'd been though, I wasn't ready to trust just one of my senses. I needed visual clarification. I relaxed a little as my vision became clearer and I could tell it was actually Will. He scooped me up into his arms and held me against him tightly, a little too tightly. I wanted nothing more in that moment than to be there in his arms. Unfortunately, my body wasn't quite ready for it.

"Oww," I whispered, still not having full control over my voice.

"Oh Andi, I'm so sorry." Will gently laid me back down. He walked over to the other side of the room to the sink and pulled something out from his bag. He returned with a washcloth soaked in water. He used the cloth to wipe the dried blood from my face.

"I'm so sorry," Will repeated, his eyes welled with tears.

Did I really look that bad? I started to ask him why he was sorry. He didn't do anything to me. I scanned my brain for memories. Convoluted images began to get clearer. Now I remembered. He didn’t do anything. Except stand there while two filthy beasts dragged me away. As my brain started to lose some more of the fuzziness from being unconscious. I remembered how angry I was at him.

"Sure you are," I hissed, anger boiling up inside me.

I pushed him away from me. The hurt and abandonment I had felt watching him stand there and do nothing as two animals forced me down that road came flooding back. I couldn't even bring myself to look at him. Seeing that face, so upset, made my brain try to betray me. There was part of me that didn't want to be mad at Will at all. That part wanted to be happy to see him, to throw my arms around his neck and tell him how much I missed him. This was the part that realized there really was nothing Will could have done to stop the cousins from forcing me away. They were bigger, stronger, and they had all the weapons. If he had tried, he might have gotten himself killed. I certainly didn't want that. And let's face it, he really didn't owe me anything, certainly not his life. The rest of me however, was holding a grudge. Now that he was back-- wait, he was back. How was that even possible? Where were Bo and Lucas? My brain started to put memories back into place piece by piece. I could remember arguing. Bo came in the cabin. A gunshot?